The Famous Play: "Jesus Loves the Little Children aka Group Hug/Doggie Pile"

So today the joyous but chaotic VBS started. Here's how things got started...We forgot the pages that they were supposed to kool-aid paint on and we also forgot the kool-aid. I know, great start. Sekia Samoa (It's all good) we got both even with around a minute to spare. We were greeted with about 43 screaming kids running with smiles on their faces toward our direction. Melinda and I of course started laughing and gave each other a look of: We're in for a wild ride...We started off singing and they loved it and knew every song we would throw at them..we didn't stump them once. Then Melinda and I were supposed to teach them the Fruit of the Spirit song since that is our theme..you know the one that starts out "Oh the fruit of the spirit's not a _____ (insert edible fruit like grape here). and kept going. Well..we got some confused looks when we were done but then we went over it slowly around at least 15 times and learned hand motions and they learned all the fruit of the spirit. Imagine that all in the 1st day of good ol' VBS. We then split up into groups half were making name necklaces with Tootie Frooties (the off brand fruit loops that Melinda and I are still bitter towards...read last post if confused). And the other group was painting a sheet of the fruit with the kool-aid paint that smelled awesome but got a little messy..I still have some on my hands. I was with the Frootie Tootie name tag group and the older kids got the hang of it right off..but the 2 year olds had a little bit more difficulties..imagine that the 2 year olds having more difficulties. This is where I met my friend Sulu who I helped with her necklace. She then became known for wanting to sit in people's laps...and she ended up being in my group so everywhere I went Sulu was attached. (It was really fun and made me feel like a kid again but then again Melinda and I usually don't act like most 21 yr. olds...sometimes more like 8 yr. olds.. After that we the interns and Colleen acted out the story of Jesus letting the little children come to Him. I was Jesus..don't laugh I know you're getting a funny picture in your head and I guess you're right it was pretty funny. Then we split into groups where the kids got to act out the story for the other kids. It was really fun-lots of group hugs and doggie piles at the end which was very entertaining. My group consisted of Sulu, Nai, Lina, Valentine, Brenda, Afa, and 1 boy who's name I don't recall. Sometime in between here we managed to make picture frames as well that remind them that Jesus loves them...which happens to be the 1st Fruit of the Spirit we are talking about and we didn't even plan it (Sarcasm was used). We then got to play the name game...you know like Marci Marci bo Barci and so on, but try doing it with names like ThankyouLord and Cornelius...it was very entertaining and a mouthful. Then just like they entered they left everything was crazy.."Are you coming tonight..ok I'll see you tonight...Melinda and I trying to say everyones names". Some people stayed longer. Especially some of the older girls like Fatoi, Nai, Valorie, and Vae. Vae is deaf so she wanted us to learn the sign language alphabet...she then wanted us to do it faster and faster. The older girls were very helpful and really sweet. I am thankful that they're were not tricks played..at least not to my knowledge. We then had to leave to go to lunch but we are going to try to get a game of volleyball going one afternoon which Melinda and I are dying to do. I don't know if we'll get shown up our not but it should be fun, but then again Samoans are very competitive like us. (Just cross your fingers it goes ok). We then got stuff ready at the house for tomorrow and now it is almost time for night time lecture...Time is definitely flying...even when you don't want it to that's when it sometimes seems like it flies by the fastest.

Please Don't Be Mad!

So we love you so much and we know we promised not to get a tattoo, but we just had to. Once we learned about the tattoo and how much it means to the culture we made the decision to get one together. The word tattoo comes from a Samoan word, and the tattoo first came from here in Samoa! There is a lot to the history that is hard to explain so if you want to do your own research about it you can, but I will try. In the certain villages there are different types of chiefs or matai's. It showed that these people were important and was the start of a tradition for many years to come. The chiefs would get a tattoo called a patei (note: spelling could be wrong on many of these words), and it was from the waist to mid thigh for girls, and from the waist to the knees for guys. We asked Wilson, who did our tattoo how long one of these tattoos would take and he said about 7 days. I'm sure that it would have taken a lot longer when they would do it the original way. Marci and I have just experienced so much while we were here, and we never wanted to forget it. I know this is just one reason, but we can tell you all more about it when we get back. By the way we're on our last week here and we have VBS the whole week. We know that it's going to be really hard to say goodbye to everyone. After church this morning I was playing with a girl named Juliette. She ended up in my arms and we were spinning in circles and all I could do was smile really big. I told her ok, I bet you need to go now, while I tried to get her off me. This is just an example of the meaningful relationships that we have formed so far.

This last Friday, we went to a pre-show of the Pacific Arts Festival that is going to be held here in a few weeks. This included lots of different groups and schools performing sivas (dances). This was so great for us to be able to watch and it was so fun. The Samoans are so graceful when they dance, and all of the different moves that they do are things that relate to their culture. We even watched girls do a sword dancing routine, which was pretty impressive. They even gave us free sodas.

We don't know if a lot of the kids from the Tafuna church where we are at will be able to come to the VBS since a lot of their families do not have cars. But we plan on having about 40 kids. This whole weekend has been spent watching Gilmore Girls episodes and getting all of the crafts ready for 40 kids. One of our favorites that Marci and I worked on was the fruit of the spirit necklaces. We bought the off brand of Fruit Loops called Tootie Fruities. We decided to give each kid 40 fruit loops to put in a ziploc bag. The problem with the Tootie Fruities was that a lot of them were stuck together, so the kids would not be able to string them on a necklace. Marci and I spent about an hour and a half cutting apart tootie fruites. Thank you to anyone who has ever helped with a VBS or with kids, we can finally relate to all of the hard work you've done. We continue to ask for your prayers as we start on our last week here.

Tonight we met upstairs for a short devotional and we sang lots of great classic church of christ songs. Marci and I felt like we were at Cemetery working or at Aunt Nunny's house. And yes, we have still not yet quite matured yet because we got our tickle box turned over while we were singing. Just some great memories that we were reminded of tonight.

P.S. We really didn't get a tattoo, so please don't call the Willis' mom and dad, don't worry. It was just a little joke, but our friend Colleen did get one. Ha Ha. We had a good time watching here get one though.

Heartbreaker

So today was our last time (during this trip) to see Patello. Recap...he is the man that is handicapped from a routine surgery that went wrong and him, his wife and their daughter live in a single bedroom house that is probably the equivalent to two cajun cone stands put together and their is no bathroom or shower. He greeted us with the warmest welcome. Then his daughter Emme, who is part of our tween group, came over to us and gave us all ulas, Samoan necklace..this one is made of tiny shells. When she put the ula on my neck it was the hardest to try and make the tears not stream down my face. Just knowing that we connected with each other and formed a friendship even just over four weeks is a neat thing. It is just one of those times that God breaks your heart...I definitely wasn't ready for it. God is working in this family and even through trials He is their joy and that exudes in this family. Then Patello sang the Savalivali and Melinda recorded it so she could learn the chords and be able to share this song with others...which is really cool.

We then invited some more people to the Lectureship next week. After that David decided we would go to Rubbles for lunch (this place Melinda had been dying to go) so she was stoked. It was really neat and had a underwater submarine/ship theme. The thing about America Samoa is that at a restaurant you never know when your food will come so you eat when you get your food and it is not considered rude because it is very possible that before your food could be cold before your friend got their food. So basically everyone was finished with their food before Melinda even got her meal. It's kind of a funny thing. I got a Teryaki Beef Burger which was amazing and food like that is probably why I haven't lost any weight while I've been here. We then worked on our VBS and it is sounding like its going to be real fun!! So today with our 1st of goodbyes I come to the conclusion that even though 5 weeks is not a long time there are people here that I will never forget and that I have made memories with that shape my image of joy during tribulation I believe for forever...God works in my life and other peoples lives and that is what is exciting and amazing all at the same time....with many more emotions also!

Also an interesting fact...as I was changing my clothes for our Wednesday night discussion class I found a whole huge family of ants in one of my drawers but living here you just become custom to the insects being around like ants in drawers or spiders in the shower...

Scavenger Hunt and Paddle Pops!

Today we went to visit a lady that goes to church named Gwen. She owns quite a bit of land and gave us a lot of fruit. We even got to use this 15 foot long stick to get grapefruit out of the trees. It was quite funny, my arms were shaking as I tried to hold the stick steady and get it underneath the fruit to push it out of the tree. After that we went inside to talk a while. She babysits her granddaughter Kathleen, who is 10 months old. It made me think of Ashleigh, Lance, and Caedmon. (We really miss you by the way!) She was precious and we really enjoyed playing and being around her.

This afternoon was our last Tween activity and it rained all day for the most part. We only had four kids today and we had worked hard to make it a great last time together. We still had lots of fun. We had made up a bible scripture scavenger hunt with different verses of the bible. They worked together to look up the different verses and then find each clue. It was so sweet listening to them read the verses because their English isn't quite perfect yet. We stayed with them the whole time, so we would let them know if they figured out the right word out of the verse to focus on. It was hilarious to listen to them pick out what they thought the word was. Example: The son of man .......... Then a boy named Ray said, "It's the son of man" and got up to look for Jesus outside. We got a little tickled. In the video below the clue is utensil. They finally got the hang of it, and it was great to see them work together the whole time. A lot of the kids could not come because they had to babysit. That is a big part of the Samoan culture. The young kids get put in the hands of the kids that are older and they are in charge of taking care of them instead of the parents. We'll get to have these kids in Vacation Bible School, so it's not the last time we'll see them which is good because we were definitely not ready to say goodbye yet.

Tonight we ate upstairs at the Ashley's and had this Mexican casserole dish that was very yummy. After we ate we went to the bush store to get New Zealand ice cream. I had a rainbow paddle pop, which made me feel like I was 12 years old again, and it was summer....and it made me think I was and am having the time of my life! The paddle pop was very sweet different colored ice cream. After that it was time to practice our dance. And we practiced and practiced. Yes, we were serious, the one we're doing in front of 2 Samoan congregations and other visitors. If only ya'll could see us I think everyone would laugh hysterically. Anyways, we're pretty beat. We spend our last day with Putela tomorrow, so that will be sad. He is such a great man. I just ask that you be praying for the lectureship and for us as we prepare to get ready to teach kids next week with VBS. We're missing everyone! Hope all is well back on the Mainland.

Barefoot: The Samoan Way

We taught Bible Class this morning, since it's Sunday, ya know. It went really good! We talked about Paul's Shipwreck and they made the ocean with just a plastic bottle, food coloring, glitter, and the shake of their hands. It was really fun Melinda made them shake their bottles 14 times since there was 14 days...well you know the story. They laughed and thought it was the coolest thing since to little kids most anything can be cool and entertaining. Then we had a couple of minutes until it was time for worship service to start and so the kids got to add the different food colorings they wanted to their beautiful blue oceans...most of them ended up brown. We got some questions like.."What is it that they made?" and so on...We just replied well it used to be the ocean you know the blue pretty color with sparkles. We also wore our Pula Tasi's, our Samoan dresses to church, and everyone really appreciated us trying to appreciate their culture. I also wore a sei, which is a flower that the women put in their hair.

Then after church we went to the traditional Deluxe Restaurant where I got my new favorite thing Banana Pancakes..Yumm! Then Colleen, our tour guide, took us on an adventure to Nu Uli Falls. So she said it would be a short hike so Melinda and I decided that we needed a hiking outfit and matching hiking hairstyle to go along with our hike. After we were ready we asked what shoes to wear and Colleen told us that what she would do which also happened to be "The Samoan Way" was to go barefoot. So Melinda and I decided to try it and we brought shoes along just in case...It was one of the hardest things I've done to my little poor feet. The hike was muddy, rocky, slippery, and painful..but also filled with loads of laughter because it was so funny trying to walk barefoot the entire way..Colleen on the other hand was a pro, a natural. Once we got their and basically the whole way up but sometimes we were to focused on stepping on the easiest course possible to try to admire the beauty..anyways it was amazing!! We got to swim in the little area, but we couldn't go near the waterfall because it rained a lot yesterday and it was to powerful..Sums up God's creation in a simple way beautiful and wonderful but at the same time powerful. We also got to climb up the waterfall a little ways and see it from a different angle. It was lots of fun and I am still to this moment baffled at how the Samoans can walk barefoot up to the waterfall...Fact-Samoans don't really have arches on their feet more just flat since they usually walk barefoot everywhere. That's all of the experiences God showed us today.

An 80 Mile Trip...

So we just returned from Western Samoa this afternoon and thought we should write a little about it. So we went to the airport to check in and we had to stand up on the scale where you usually put your luggage so they could weigh you. This is so they could assign you seats so the weight of the plane would be balanced because the plane was so small. We had to hunch when we were walking to the aisles to get to our seat. I think the plane held about 20 people. It was very pretty flying across the ocean and coming into Western Samoa. The water was beautiful and we were flying in between the clouds. The flight was really fast, it was about 30 minutes. We were shocked once we were up in the air when they turned on the air. It shot out of the vent in a white color. We don't really know how to explain it except we thought we were getting gassed by some deadly chemical, but it was just air. I guess some some scientist will have to explain that to me. Marci was in the front row and could have punched all of the buttons (so she says), I think she means she was really really close. Once we landed, we got a taxi to take us to our hotel. In Western Samoa they have chickens, pigs, dogs, and horses running around everywhere. Everything else is about the same as America Samoa. American Samoa is run by our government, so the poor use food stamps and rely on our government for help. Western Samoa runs itself, and they are proud of being a self supporting nation, even though they tend to be poorer. They still maintain their culture and a lot of their traditions.

We also exchanged our U.S. money for tala, and got a stamp in our passport for leaving the country. We still hadn't done that since America Samoa is a U.S. territory. Once we got settled in, we went to Aggie Grey's for a fia fia night ( a Samoan luau). They had traditional Samoan singing and dancing. We had a lot of fun and laughed a lot. A guy came and got Marci to dance up on stage with him. At the end, he gave her an ula, which is a Samoan flower lei. Then they had fire dancing by the pool. Aggie Grey's would be a great honeymoon spot, just in case our future husbands are reading. At the end there was a buffet of food and desserts, it was ok.

Day 2:

We wake up. The end. No just kidding. We find out that there is complimentary breakfast and this is not Super 8 complimentary breakfast it is more like Embassy Suites. We had fruit, toast, baked beans...New Zealand thing.., muffins, poached eggs-never tried but loved, bacon, sausage, a samoan dish that was not my fav., and french toast. We were refreshed and ready to start the day! We drove the the opposite side of the island to Taufua Beach Fales, which cost $26 and included 2 amazing meals...you can't get that in the states...but if you can let me know and we can go together. A fale is a traditional samoan house...now most live in a more modern day house, but invite their guests to stay in the fales. So we get to our fale and change right into our swimsuits to go snorkeling. Even though we live on an island this is only the 2nd time we have been in the water. And this was a way better experience than the 1st time...the water was calm, snorkels worked fine, and the ocean life was like we should have been on the Discovery Channel or something, but in real life. The only hard part was that we were warned not to touch the coral or it would die and that was sometimes a problem b/c the coral was at times only a foot away from yourself and the top of the water. We saw a bright blue starfish like the one off the Little Mermaid when it covers Ursela's mouth. They really do exist and they're huge!!! We learned this neat trick while snorkeling...we're no longer beginners we are probably more at the intermediate level now. We could swim down to the bottom to look and then come up to the surface and not have salt water in our mouths...yes, i know quite an improvement. We also saw a bright blue clam (the clam would be open and then when we would swim down it would shut itself), sea cucumbers, rainbow fish, and fish of every color imaginable. We then split a Coke for lunch and then it was back to the ocean for us now experienced snorkelers. We were in the water to about supper time, which was served family style with everyone sitting at long tables..reminded me of Blue Haven..Melinda and I sat by this New Zealand family and it was really interesting just getting to talk to them and learn differences and for the main part similarities. They speak English, just in case you didn't know, but it was sometimes very hard to understand them. One of the sons was named Reegan and I thought the mom said Vegan and the girl who was close to our age in what they call college "Uni" was named Charma...I thought they said Charmin..like the toilet paper. One phrase that was funny is the daughter said "Mom can I scab some toothpaste off of you?" Also burglars are called home invaders..but they don't pronounce their R's like we do so it sounds more like home invadas. We talked for hours and then invited the four kids to play Uno, which they pronounce Youknow, and they ended up showing the Americans up...we all came in last. They were Christians we ended up finding out and it's just encouraging and neat just to talk to other Christians around the world. When it was time for bed I had to go to the restroom, but when I walked in...their was what I thought was a huge poisonous spider..but it turned out to be only the hugest hermit crab I've seen in my life, no exaggeration. We then climbed onto our cushions and enclosed ourselves in mosquito netting and called it a night.

It was such a great morning waking up to the sound of the ocean. Once we were up we ate breakfast and drove back to Apia. We saw the New Zealand family and they sat down by us again at breakfast...I think they liked us. We saw a lot of horses, it's weird to see them in a rain forest looking setting. It looked like where they filmed Jurassic Park, but I think that was Hawaii or some other place. Then we went to the Marketplace which was huge. It was very overwhelming and almost a little stressful for us. We went up and down every aisle to find out the best prices for things. There were t-shirts, hand made jewelry sets, serving dishes, place mats, purses, flowers, weapons, fine mats...and many other things. We finally managed to get gifts for everyone. We got a tapa board for us and the rest of you will just have to wait until we get back to find out what we got you. After the souvenir shopping we were very tight on our Samoan money that we had exchanged. We ate at a cute Italian pizza place and ate some very good food. We decided not to get a drink, since money was tight.

Things that we didn't get to do: See waterfalls and swim by them, swim with turtles, tours, snorkel where you can swim under a cave, visit a Samoan museum, and many other things. Lovely time, but we're really tired.

Last morning:

We went to Robert Luis Stevenson's house where he spent the last years of his life fighting tuberculosis. I just wanted to have a sentence where it sounded like I read. Don't feel bad if you didn't know who he was: He is a author who wrote many famous works including Treasure Island, Jekyll and Hyde, and you know many other great stories that I have not read. He wrote 13 books in the last 4 years of his life. That's unimaginable to me. While we were waiting on our taxi Melinda met a friends that was part of a cruise ship that was in Samoa. She told Melinda that she looked like her dead husband that had blonde hair and blue eyes. She told Melinda never to remarry because all of her friends who were still married hated their husbands. She said husbands get to possessive when they get older...I thought this was pretty humorous. We then walked around the harbor where ships dock and then it was time to leave Samoa and head back. That is all. We were invited back by the normal rain that comes down usually everyday in American Samoa and that's where this story ends.

All You Need is A Full Moon, The Ocean, and New Friends

Today starts with the amazing experience we had last night. Coleen, a Samoan native, took us out to see "Sliding Rock" at night. She told us that the ocean had to be seen at night...and I had my doubts...but I definitely now am a believer. The moon was full and there was a slight breeze but what we saw was the magic, the amazing creation, of God. The moon's light would reflect on to the waves right before they would crash. This made the waves look like they were sparkling...folks, this is not an exaggeration. To make it seem relatable it was like when King Triton gives Ariel legs for forever and when he sticks out his trident (sp.?) the waves that are flowing towards Ariel seem to sparkle. This was to an extent what the ocean waves seemed to look like. It was the 1st time we have really gotten to take lots of time just to sit in awe and admire God's gift, his creation. We ended up singing praises to Him and I have not been that flabbergasted at a sight in a long time. It is a memory that I know will last forever. We couldn't capture it on film...maybe somethings God just intended for us to admire in person instead of the ability to have the memory on film forever....or maybe we just didn't have a good enough camera??...but whatever the reasoning it is one part of God's creation that I will always take with me.
Now....we wake up it's Tuesday...
We got to different places to invite them to the 3rd Annual Lectureship that will start not this coming Sun. but the next. Then after lunch it was time to pick up the Tween Class. One girl, Brenda wrote out a list of Samoan words for us to learn...now we have no excuse not to learn some more Samoan. (Even the simple things in life like her writing ourwords for us mean a lot). We then played a game of good ol' fashioned kickball...which I don't think any of them had played before so that was fun. Then we got into groups and acted out different peer pressure scenarios...we let them be in charge of them and they had lots of fun with it and did a good job. Then we had time to sing and Kate taught them "You Gotta Take the Lord With You" they love love to sing and loved the motions that went along with it. They learned all the English words very quickly and we sang it over and over until they had it down. One boy, Joe, does not speak much English at all. And his smile and him trying to move his mouth and sing some of the words might have been the most inspiring thing of all..Singing even the boys love...who would have thought?? Not like I remember in my youth group....they have hearts that's for sure!!
We then went and picked up our Pula Tasi's...Our Samoan dresses. They are worn basically almost everyday...it's either that or the lava lava's(the wrap around skirts, which me wear too). They are really neat and is something that will spark memories every time we wear them. We then went upstairs for supper with the Ashley's and shared in a meal. After came the scary part....We are performing the traditional Samoan dance for Lectureship representing the Tafuna Church...Cross your fingers b/c I started out pretty rocky. Picture a tall non-coordinated girl + any form of culture dancing...yeah I started laughing too....It's just going to be the 3 of us interns...It shows appreciation and respect for their culture...and it shows them that we want to get to know who they are as a person...Not only their spiritual lives, but who they are entirely so we can form relationships with them...So practice makes perfect..at least that's how the saying goes. We then walked to a Bush store, which is a tiny store that is basically a convenience store and all had cokes. We are leaving for Western Samoa tomorrow so our sharing of our journey with you all will be put on pause until Saturday, but we will try to make up for it...I know you all are probably terribly worried....But..We hope all is well and will leave you with God is in everything!!

Puah....Both a Flower and a very neat lady.

Today we went with David on a lot of visits to many different people that he knew. This was very fun for us because he chose to invite all of these people to lectureship in two weeks, you could tell how much the people really enjoyed their relationship with David. David encouraged the Tafuna church to have 125 people in worship in 2 weeks, so that is why he started inviting people today. This afternoon was really fun. Puah, the wife of an elder (Tia), met us up at the school to make lava lavas with us. She taught us how to design and make a lava lava using tapa board. This board has a design on each side carved out onto about a 3 foot board. First off she told us to choose a flower that we wanted to draw on a piece of cardboard to use as a stencil. We first tried drawing our own. Marci chose the hibiscus flower, while I chose the ginger plant. Our drawings were awful, and when we showed them to Puah she just laughed and said "good try". She then drew the flower for Marci and I while we cut them out. The next step was to paint the flower using the stencil that we had made. After that we used the tapa board and painted it in between the flowers to go along the bottom of the lava lava. It was so much fun for Marci and I to talk with Puah and learn this Samoan design technique. I was not good at it, but we talked and laughed a lot with her. There is something about laughter that makes me feel good from the inside out. I really enjoy it, and I think we were able to connect with her even through something as simple as laughter. I also believe that laughter keeps us young, and helps us not to worry about certain things. She was so excited to figure out what she was going to teach us next week. Next week we're going to do a t-shirt with a tapa design and make sei's (which are the flowers that the Samoan ladies wear in their hair). Now, when we get back we can have a craft day with everyone. Also, I nearly forgot to write about this. Puah was brought up in a family that practiced fofo, which is using medicine and massage to help heal people with aches and pains. I asked her about it because it interested me, so she taught me a few techniques. I practiced on Marci, while she massaged me, so I could feel what she was doing and try and imitate it. We're loving it here!

After I posted for today, David got a call from Emil who is one of his friends. He said that he had a frozen Wahu (type of fish here), that he wanted David to have. We picked it up and he had cut it in half, but it's still huge. We're going to eat it sometime next week...I bet it's going to be yummy.

Manuia le aso sa o tama....Oh your not fluent in Samoan...It means Blessed Father's Day!!

Today is Father's Day. Most of the dad's where ula's (which are the necklaces made from real flowers...who would've thought that was even possible coming from Texas and they last for weeks because the flowers are so nourished with water). And if they didn't have an ula some dad's had these awesome contraptions that I hope to bring back and make popular in the U.S.. Picture this the netting that you would get a fish from the store out of the bowl with, and then different candy bars in the netting tied up with ribbons to make a necklace...awesome!! Bible Class was really fun and very short we barely had time to finish our craft. David, the preacher, had a polongi-white person, have 6 different dads with 6 children up at the front and the visitor had to try to match the dad with their correct child...the Samoans loved it. He related the object lesson to the fact that since we are God's children people should be able to tell that we are different than non-Christians. The Samoans really connected to this. The singing was again amazing and more heart felt than when I sing. Well...the kids are always excited to see us which gives a person huge joy to feel wanted, loved I'm sure God wants us to be that excited when we get to talk to Him, something I need to work on. That is what the Tafuna church is like....people who are lover's of God and people who are willing to help out each other with no questions asked!

Ladies Day!

So today was a ladies day for the church women. They have a ladies day once a month. It was special because it was the Samoan women's idea to have it, so they are the ones that take leadership of it. Today, a woman named Puah led the devotional about love. I could tell that she put a lot of time and effort into her lesson. I sat next to her because we were in a circle and she had about 4-5 pages of notes written out. English of course is still not their spoken language so it is still kind of difficult for them. She spoke with so much wisdom about love, and had found many scriptures for us all to read. She did such a great job, then we kind of had an open discussion time about love which led to a discussion about disciplining children out of love. The Samoan women beat their children with a broom whenever the child misbehaves. Puah told the story of one time when she beat her daughter, then the daughter lied about to the school about how she had the scratches and bruises on her feet. Then social services and the police came to Puah's house to question her about it. Puah said yes I beat her, so arrest me, but whenever she becomes pregnant I will sue you, then the police apologized and left their house. Just a different culture here and the way things are done. I am definitely glad to not have been beaten with a broom. (Mom and Dad I'm not worried b/c I'm an adult now, so you can't use this technique on me.) I was glad to be a part of this time with the church ladies, it was very enjoyable. I saw this snail on the wall of the school building today because it's been raining all day. I was told that this wasn't even a big one, it seemed very large to me!

The Ocean: WARNING!! Not for people that use Floaties

So today was our first day to swim in the ocean and we went snorkeling. We'd never been before and let's just say the picture I had in mind was a little different. We went at 10, which was low tide. Don't let that fool you though...The waves were very choppy and the water would reach about to our calves so every time a wave would hit we would hold on to dear life and we wouldn't realize that ohh we could just stand up. So we have quite a few pretty sweet cuts all over our legs. Who knew snorkeling could be so dangerous?? We stayed about 5 min. at Flower Pot Rock and David did not think it was safe enough so we left. We had just gotten used to the water..but then we drove about 20 min. longer to go to Tisa's, which is more of a sandy beach area, the other was more just lava rock. That's why we got all the cuts...but this was still rough water with coral and lava rock as well. We start out here and we our warned that the current is very strong so not to go out very far at all. Snorkeling is not as easy as it might seem...Here are some of the things that can happen:
1. Waves can hit you unannounced and you get blown away and either thrown against a rock or into another person
2. Your snorkel can not work...or maybe I had no idea how to use it..and can suffocate you
3. When you try to clear out your mask the only hair that you have can be ripped out b/c it is tangled so bad from the water
4. You also can see the coolest coral of different colors like red, orange, and purple.
5. You can see blue fish, yellow fish, a school of fish, big fish, baby fish, white and black striped fish, spotted fish, and even eels (David saw one and he was kind enough not to point the eel out to us) I would've gone crazy
6. And just when you get the hang of snorkeling you hear the "lifeguard who charges $1000 to save someone and your missionary yelling at the 3 interns that we've gone too far. "Girls come back!! Girls!!...Lifeguard whistling..." Just for the record we were only like 20 yds away but the tide was changing pretty fast I guess and the waves were getting pretty big..Remember this isn't Galveston
7. Once you finish you have sand everywhere, which was kind of annoying.
End of Snorkeling.
Then with our wet selves and all we went to the National Park, aka The North Side of the Island where basically no one lives.
It was beautiful more like a rain forest but then you could go out and see the ocean at different outlets. There was this area of rocks that made up the beach area and the ocean made a really neat sound b/c it was hitting all the rocks and smoothing them out it sounded more like thunder than ocean waves it was really neat.

The moral of the day is that God's creation here Is not possible to miss, It is powerful, It is enormous, It is beyond beautiful! It is made by my God who is the Creator of all things...and these things are AMAZING!!

Secret Garden

Ok, so it wasn't really a secret garden. I just couldn't think of a great title, and thought it might make you interested to read. Today we went by to meet a Chinese couple who is keeping a house while the owner is away. They live in a house just around the corner in the same village that we do. We pulled up to the house, and got out. It was such an amazing sight when we found them out back. They have only been keeping the house for about 2 months, and had already started a huge garden. We wished so bad that Kinzie and Matt could have been with us at this moment because they have started their own garden this year. The couple had planted many different things: sugar cane, papayas, pineapple, taro, bread fruit, oranges, bananas, pumpkin, onions, tomatoes, beans, cabbage, cucumbers, and many different flowers. They had also tilled some land that they were about to plant some more things in. They had borrowed a tiller for a few days, but the only other tools they had was a machete (spelling?) and a hoe. Wow, I could not believe that they did all of that work in so little of time, and with only those couple of tools. That is all they do though. The garden is how they support themselves, and you can tell that they enjoy it and work so so hard. The man was so happy to meet us, and showed us all of the different things growing. Him or his wife didn't speak English very well. He used his machete and just chopped us off 3 huge things of sugar cane. He also gave us onions and cucumbers. He then got a fresh pineapple for us. I have to say that it is very beautiful and I could just smell deliciousness whenever I was near it. Don't worry we haven't tasted these things yet because we've been busy, but we definitely will let you know once we do. The wife was pregnant and her baby is due this month and she was still working in the garden. Marci and I hope to spend some time with them one afternoon. God does provide! The garden is the only income the couple has.They were so satisfied and happy with what they had, and I know people always say this whenever they visit poorer countries, but it was so true. They were so satisfied and happy with what they had and what they were doing. In the United States we're always striving for that certain status, and always wanting more. I am truly moved by their lifestyle and hope, pray and think that mine should model and be more like theirs. Not just being focused on myself. What a great example they are for me.

We visited Putela ( paralyzed man we talked about in a past post), and sang him the Samoan song we learned, and he said that we would record it next time we were there. Today his daughter Emmie and wife were at the house. They sat with us and we all talked. It was really neat again to listen to David and Putela as they read the bible in Samoan and then translated it into English. Marci and I tried to read along in Samoan, it was really difficult though. We got about 2 words right out of every 20. I told him that I wanted to try reading next time. He then asked Emmie to sing us the song that had been written for one of their close friends that had died. Putela played while Emmie sang. Emmie was really close to this person, and did not want to sing at first, but then she did. She sang the song in Samoan and it was so sweet and a very genuine heart felt song. You could see the tears in her eyes and her mothers as she sang the song. Next week she is going to come to our Tuesday activity so that is really exciting.

Tonight at supper Marci was in charge of making some potatoes from a mix. And we all know of how Marci and I are great cooks. We'll just say that the potatoes turned out as a kind of soup looking thing. We both got a good kick out of it.

I pray that God will continue to open my eyes to new ideas here. We are just so blessed to be here.

P.S. No the picture of the bananas is not upside down. That's how they grow.

The 1st Tuesday Tween Activity!!

So we took the church van to get picked up and so all 3 of us got to have the wonderful experience of us driving in American Samoa, aka Pothole Island, but we survived. We got snacks and drinks for the kids. Then we picked up the kids which takes around an hour. Joe was the 1st one to be picked up and his English isn't as good as the others so I got a little nervous. Then we split up girls against guys and did some relays...Wheelbarrow, Dizzy Bat, and Waterballoon Toss. Just some of the classics you know. Samoans are generally very competitive so Melinda and I fit right in. They loved the water balloons!! After relays were over we had a waterballoon fight which was even crazier and most everyone ended up wet. We used the object lesson when doing the water balloon toss. The water balloon represented trust and when you move farther apart from each other the harder it is to keep the trust from breaking. Most of these kids have not been going to church that long...and the missionaries tell us that this is the 1st group that is really been more along the lines of growing up in the church. So, they want us to work on accountability and not conforming to what the world, their culture, or even some of their family might think is the way to go. We then had refreshments and we bought enough for today and next week, but since all the kids are pretty poor they wanted 2 or 3 drinks and would start hiding the snacks in their pockets....something I guess that I'm not used to. They get fun drinks and snacks only on special occassions. Overall...it went very well and makes me feel more like a child of God. (What I'm saying is it's easy to see these kids love for God in a simple way) especially when they sing every word seems to come from the heart. They are excited to grow closer as a church group and we are excited to guide them some along this journey! Life is good. No complaints found here.

P.S. I love p.s.'s by the way...the kids on the way home taught us a song to teach us some Samoan but also remember the what the words mean in English as well...but of course I was definitely the slowest at learning it...but I did learn it so...I guess that counts.

Here are the words:

Savalivali means go for a walk

Tautalatala means too much talk

Alofa ia to oe means I love you

Take it easy faifailemu.

It's pretty catchy we've been humming it all day and the kids were so pround of us for at least attempting to learn some Samoan...even though mine isn't anywhere near perfect. Will just say it's closer to the other end of the scale. It was really neat...connecting.

Watch out Ono Hawaiian Barbeque

So this morning I drove on the roads of America Samoa, which have many pot holes. I happened to drive on the smooth ones though. I followed David in the van, on the way to take in the church van to get worked on. We took the van to an automotive shop owned by Fred Foot. That's his name for real, no joke. We then had breakfast at a place called Mom's. Marci and I had sausage and cheese omletes made with New Zealand cheese. They were amazing! We came back and planned our activity for the Tween class tomorrow. We met Mara and Danielle at their school, then we went to lunch. We ate at a new Hawaiin Barbeque place called L & L Hawaiian Barbeque, Marci and I split the terriyaki steak. It was amazing, it came pretty close to Ono, it's a close call. After that, we picked up the last of our material for our pulatosi's (dresses) to be made. We took it to the seamstress. I explained to her how I wanted mine to look, which was kind of difficult. Hopefully, it will look alright though. Tonight we have started planning our VBS over the fruits of the spirit. We realized that it is going to be quite the job though. We are excited about tomorrow being a chance for us to really connect with the tween class, we hope to begin to form some closer relationships to some Samoans.

Do You Have Fake Hair?

Today was the first Sunday Melinda and I would teach. We teach ages 2-3rd grade. We had 9 of the cutest little Samoan kids. So, even though Bible class supposedly starts at 9:30 we didn't get started til at least 9:45. We had a high school girl that translated for us b/c when you reach 5th grade usually the Samoans can understand English, but until then they're still busy trying to learn their own language. Samoans love love to sing. We would sing the song in English and then if they knew it they would sing it in Samoan for us...and we would try to sing along and they would of course laugh. They went crazy when we sung "I'm all Wrapped Up". Melinda told them that we would try to sing it as fast as we could and that was definitely a sight to see. Samoans loving to sing. sing loud and with smiles on their faces. It seems like in America though we would sing softer especially if we didn't think we sing as well as others or think we can't carry a tune. The Samoans definitely sing with their hearts even if it's not the most what we would think of prettiest sounding...I'm sure God smiles down when he hears the Samoans sing. I really can get this picture in my head of God even maybe smirking or a slight chuckle of joy when he hears them sing. We then read our story about Saul's Conversion. Then the kids made scrolls with construction paper, pencils, and a coloring sheet we glued in the middle. I'm afraid that the pencils were used as drum sets during worship service though...but a little background music to the preacher never hurts....Then we dismissed the kids and the younger kids went with their parents but about half of the kids stayed since the adult class was still going on. We asked them to teach us a Samoan game: it's like rock paper scissors but you don't say rock, paper scissors or 1,2,3 shoot. You throw out your sign at the very beginning then the winner gives a direction of movement with a shoohh sound. You can either go up down left or right. Then the loser points their head at the same time in a direction of movement and if they end up being the same then the loser is out. If not you repeat this cycle...until someone loses. It was very funny b/c I would always forget to turn my head before the winner would move his hand in the direction. They would say you have to do it faster faster. Then we went to worship service and we were introduced to the congregation. Everything was going great we sat with the kids up front it was neat b/c already they seemed to look up at us (I don't mean that in a cocky way though). Then when the offering was being taken up I had my money out and then the man stuck out his hand and I thought that he wanted my $ so I gave it to him..but then he gave it back. Then the Samoan girl next to me laughed and told me all he wanted to do was to shake my hand. Then when worship was over we talked and I played tag with a little girl Juliette until she left. Then Rosetta and Mua came up to Melinda and I and asked us about Tues. b/c that is when we have an activity with the Tween class. They were really excited and wanted to teach us Samoan and braid our hair. Mua and Rosetta said they thought our hair was really pretty...and then Mua started braiding my hair and I had put mousse in it and she asked wait do you have fake hair..She said yours is kind of hard...I laughed and said no...but I never have been told that one before. Then we ate lunch at this place where the missionaries go every Sun. after church. They knew their names and exactly what they wanted to order. I thought that was neat. Then we wanted to get some form of exercise so David told us our safest bet would be to walk around the golf course that is in their backyard. That was pretty entertaining...I was sweating even before we started b/c it is so humid here and if you don't believe me...think to yourself for a second and remember we are living on a island. Then we had a Bible study upstairs. We sang lots and had a discussion. Then Coleen taught us the beginning of Samoan and Tahitian dances. It was very fun/funny. We learned a secret about how to move your hips really fast that we will have to show you...I know you're thinking Marci and Melinda+Dancing=Not Possible...but I came to the conclusion at least in my head that we weren't that bad. That's about it we miss everyone though lots and you are all in our prayers... and we ask that you keep the Samoan children that we teach and get to know in your prayers as well. Just so you know it's around 11:50p.m. Sunday night here, but around 5:50am Monday morning in good ol Texas time. That's pretty crazy I think. Samoa is that last time zone the last part of the earth (that people live on) that finish the day.

Samoan words:
fia fia: happy
Talofa: is hello and love combined it's the greeting like hello but with love emphasized as well

Here come the Termites!

So today was Saturday morning, and we woke up and went to the Pago Pago public library. After that we went to the store and bought material to get lava lava's (skirt) and pulatosi's (dress) made. Monday, we are going to the seamtress to get measured and to tell her how we want to design ours. So if anyone has any good ideas you want to send us for how our pulatosi should be made, then please comment or e-mail us. Tonight was Korean night. Dana and Mara's parents were missionaries in Korea for a long time, so they grew up there. Let me tell you something, I would definitely not make it in Korea. We had so many different options, and I think I could tolerate one of them. Dana made it such a neat experience though, and had her special plates and dishes. She even had chopsticks for us to use. We also started talking about our trip to Apia and souveniers that we plan on getting for people. So if you have any special requests, then let us know. We are finished preparing everything for our lesson tomorrow, so be praying that it goes well and we can start forming relationships with some of the kids at church. As far as the nature goes here, the mosquitoes are pretty crazy. I thought about putting a picture of my legs up, but I thought it might make some people vomit because they are so white, but it looks almost like I have the chicken pox for the second time. Tonight when we were having dinner there were several brown flying bugs that kept getting around our food and on ourselves, and Danna told us that they were termites. The good thing is that all of the geckos that keep crawling on the walls will eat them. Another thing that we learned today was something that might happen at VBS. We were told that there would be a woman there, and if we get on to a kid, then she will be there with a stick to hit him/her. I have heard of people in the United States getting a belt to beat kids, but not in the public. I really hope that this does not happen because I wouldn't really know how to react, even though it's a part of their culture. I am enjoying some time for myself, and enjoying reading books that aren't part of school. Today almost all of the stores closed at 2:00pm, and will not open until Monday morning. Once again the lifestyle that the Samoans live is very different, and something I'm glad to be experiencing.

And the Rain Came Down....

So...today David and Danna planned a fun day for us of snorkeling. We would go at low tide which was 3pm. Before then we worked on our Bible Lesson for Sunday...and washed the church van. What's one of the worst things that can happen while your washing a van??? Give Up??? It started pouring rain...(not meatballs). But that I guess is why it is so green here it rains usually everyday. So, when it was 3 we sat out for our adventure because it was raining on this side of the island..but it didn't seem that bad on the side of the island we were going snorkeling. Oh..30 min. later at the other side of the island....it was pretty bad so we all settled on McDonalds instead of snorkeling. I wanted McDonalds anyway....Well then we went and saw the massacre of fruit bats that take off at dusk. I don't think I've ever seen a bat before but...they are big..the ones we saw at least. We just got real Steve Erwinish and then Melinda proceeded to jump out of the van and try to catch a toad. She failed. Interesting facts that make American Samoa sometimes difficult....and other just inspiring facts

1. Some of the villages have Sa-which means sacred...it is a 20 min. devo for family time...they have villagers that keep watch and make sure nobody intrudes on the Sa time
2. Some of the villages have curfew:9pm where they have to be in there village by then and others can't come visit after this time
3. 12 islands make up the Samoan islands..7 are American Samoa islands, but only 3 of the islands have people living on them..The island we live on is called Tutuila, which is 76.1 sq. miles with a population of 62,000
4. 200 inches of rainfall per year...Abilene is way behind in the contest..
5. Palolo Swarming worms mate once a year and Samoans eat them as a delicacy..we were delighted to hear that this time has already past so we would not have to participate
6. The only snakes on island are 6in. in length and are blind
7. Families are very protective of their children but at the same time very curteous of new visitors

Being "on island" is a totally different way of life living more of a relaxed worry free life...busy isn't used as much here

Put your patience cap on!

Today we visited some more families that have kids that we will be teaching in bible class. We're going to take Paul, a teacher here to the airport tonight, to go back to South Carolina. The airport is such a social thing here in Samoa since flights are only on Thursdays and Sundays, so it should be fun. Last night we had the milk from the coconut, I did not enjoy it at all and neither did Marci. Not much is going on today here, but we're watching the playoff game right now and it's in the middle of the afternoon. That's kind of crazy since we're used to watching basketball games in the evening. Well here's a few pictures to look at. One is of Marci and I at sliding rock, which is a place where a lot of deaths have happened from ships getting caught and sinking. The graves are right along the edge of sliding rock. (Don't worry mom, we didn't even get close to the water) The other pictures are one afternoon when Marci and I were waiting on supper, so we were trying to climb the coconut trees. We ordered our tickets to Apia in Western Samoa today. David told us to "put our patience cap on" before we went in line because it usually takes a long time. And yes, I love the new phrase, so you'll probably be hearing me say it when we return. Well, hope everyone is doing well.

Forgiveness (Fa'amagalo)

So, today we woke up and went with David to some people's houses of the children we will be teaching. It was really fun and exciting getting to see the children of who we will work with. The Samoans are beautiful people that have beautiful children. The first family consisted of children named James, Steven, Loretta, and Toluvalu(which means thirty-eight). All the Samoans names have a very meaning name. I don't know why she is named thirty eight, but David thinks she was named for someone in the family. Also, the preacher who is a twin is named Lua-Aso and his twin is named Lua-Po which both mean Lua which is 2 for twins and aso is day and po is night. (They are named for day and night since they were twins). We also visiited Patello who happens to be paralyzed from the waist down. We will see him every Wednesday. His English is amazing and he has a heart for God. He was only paralyzed around 4 years ago when he had a surgery where the doctors messed up and he woke up paralyzed from the waist down. Paralyzed he can't walk anymore and is confined to his very small room I can't imagine being a healthy strong construction man who had everything a wonderful family(which is the most important thing to Samoans) and then losing his ability to walk. But...He has gained a stronger faith he says and he writes songs on the guitar and ukelele(which is a Samoan word pronounced ohhkaylaylay). He wants to record his music so he can share his story of the gospel with all the Samoans. He was definitely an inspiration...and I know there are stories about people in Abilene with the same stories or maybe even worse...but his story is just one that I am getting to know on a personal level it means more when you establish a relationship with that person to me than just someone you don't know at all even though this probably shouldn't be the case since we are all treasures of God. W also learned the word forgiveness in the Samoan culture besides just in America when we sometimes forgive a person and still have a grudge...here it has a deeper meaning and they are called to forget that sin that someone caused against them from that person. Even if a person murders someone here they have a chance to go before the family with a straw mat on top of them in a bowing position and the family can decide to forgive or not forgive the person. But....if they choose to forgive the individual who murdered their family member the family will have to block out that sin that was so devastating. It is just a neat concept that we don't really practice...just some of the things we are learning.

Cocoa Samoa and Turtle and Shark!

So today I am amazed at the Ashley's that have lived in Samoa for 15 years. I have been thinking all day of how great their story is. They came here to work here and get to know the Samoan's through the church. They were involved in the church, but wanted to be missionaries through the work they do. Lynn is a lawyer here, and Mara has started her own private school. I know that this is only our second full day here, but this is something that I admire about the Ashley's. I admire anyone who does any type of mission work. God is opening up my mind and allowing me to see him working here in Pago Pago. I know that my plan is to get a job after next year, but depending on where God leads me, after six weeks God's plan for me might change. I am moved by the true relationships that the Willis' and Ashleys' have with the Samoan people. It inspires me to strengthen my relationships with friends back in the United States. I truly believe that relationships should be honest and open, and that as Christians we can hold each other accountable through these relationships. I know that God works through and in relationships. In Samoa, time is not very relevant. Everyone is laid back, which is something that in the United States I have forgotten about. With school and work I sometimes forget about the important things. I have been able to truly admire God and the beauty of his creation. He is so powerful and working even when I don't realize it. We got up this morning and ate breakfast looking out at the ocean. We went with David to meet some important people that we would be working with in the church. The first person we met was Luaao (pronounced loo-ow), he is the preacher at Nu Uli (Pronounced new ooli) Church of Christ. They have the most people out of the four churches of christ here. Their services are only in Samoan though. Luaao offered us cocoa samoa which is a very Samoan drink. It is made from cocoa beans like you would make coffee. I was nervous to taste it, but it was not that bad. It is served hot, and I drank all of it. At the bottom of the drink are the cocoa beans, which you are not supposed to eat. We talked to Luaao about his family. He became a member of the church when missionaries came from the United States, he now is the preacher which is so neat. He was so appreciative of us coming, and already started to thank us for the work that we would be doing. We are having a VBS on his property where the church is for all of the churches of christ. We also noticed today, that it is tradition for the females and children in Samoa to be more servants. They did not come and talk with us, and only came out to serve us our drinks. There was a little girl that was gorgeous, that would smile through the window whenever she saw us. Luaao told us a story about an eel. Seena (spelling unsure) was a girl who was swimming and caught an eel. The eel fell in love with her, the eel was little to start out. It grew, so she put it in the pool. The eel kept wanting to kiss her, and would always ask if he could kiss her. Seena said no though. Seena swam to the other island to get away from the eel. Seena said to the village that you can have the eel as long as I can have the head. Seena buried the head of the eel in her front yard, and it is now known as the coconut tree (po po). So now whenever Seena would eat a cocunut, it was like she was kissing the eel because if you peel off the outer layer of the coconut, then you can see two eyes, a nose, and the mouth of what is supposed to be the eel.

David then took us to a place called Turtle and Shark which is another story or tale, but I will save it for later because I don't remember it. This was the most incredible thing I've seen so far. The power of the ocean was so amazing to watch and hear. It just affirms how powerful God is. I could have stayed there for many days I think. Instead of being a sandy beach, the black that you see in the pictures are lava rocks formed from the volcano. The water would just come and crash into the rocks. It was such a sight to see. We went during high tide, but during low tide you can see little crabs that live in the rocks. I don't think that the pictues do the sight justice though, it is something that I will never forget.

After that, we went to see one of the elders of the church Tia. Lynn is the other elder. Tia works for the forest department of Pago Pago. He gave us each a forest shirt. Tia was very nice and friendly. He talked with us about visiting him to work and getting to know some Samoan people. We are very interested in this, and hopefully going to plan a time when we can do this. Religion is talked about very openly and honestly here. Tia encouraged us to share our faith and ask questions with Samoan people we came in contact with.

We ate at Carl's Junior, where Lynn, Tia, David usually meet to talk about things going on with the Tafuna Church. Tonight we will go upstairs to eat and have a bible study with the Ashley's and some people from the church. We are starting to prepare our lesson for Sunday morning.

Iaga are buses that are used for people to travel from village to village. The bus is basically the bed of a pick up. The buses have the name on the front of where it will be traveling to. It costs about 50 cents to a dollar to ride. We definitely plan on taking an iaga bus sometime.

There is so much that we are learning about America Samoa and we are trying to learn it all and take it all in.

I know that is probably too much information, but we are experiencing things that I hope to never forget and want to share with all of you.
Here is Kate's blog address in case you want more pictures and more information:
http://www.katesworldtravels.blogspot.com/

Samoan words:

po po-cocounut

fa'le-house

'o a mai oe?- how are you? (o ah may oh eh)

fa'a mole mole- please

iaga-family (i' inga)

The 1st Adventure With Only More to Come!!

Today was Melinda and my first whole day in Samoa. It's pronounced Sahhmoa. (Like when you say ahh when the doctor asks you to open up) We woke up and looked out our window to see the following: Coconuts, Mountains, The Ocean, Ginger Plant, As Many Different Flowers that you could think of, and the everywhere around us was green! David and Danna fixed us breakfast which consisted of eggs, sausage, toast, a great orange juice, and tiny bananas called I believe...Missy Lingas. David then took us outside where we could hear and see the rain coming in from the ocean and the ten seconds later it was at our footsteps. An amazing sight to see this was! Then Coleen, who is a college student at ACU whose parents live here, gave us a tour of the island. We saw the ocean and stopped at what they call the "Flower Pot" because it's oh about three stories tall and if you described it you would say it looks like a flower pot with palm trees growing from it. The water was clearer than Dasani water. Roosters were everywhere they run wild here and happen to be the Islands state bird. We drove across one side of the island and we saw the view from the north side when we drove up a mountain and let me tell you it was scenery straight out of a magazine only ten times better! We went to the canneries where over 1/3 of the economy work which is sad because the canneries are threatening to move out since the minimum wage keeps increasing (which is around $4 here). Coleen then took us to eat at Sadies just a cute little island(that's what they call American Samoa the island for ex. the say most people have never left island). Coleen then proceeds to tell us that her parents were paying so we could get whatever we wanted. I thought in my mind sweet!! I decided I wanted to get some fresh fish, Sashimi, it happened to be called and you could get it with a cajun flavor. The fresh fish is supposedly amazing here! I didn't want to get the typical American burger ya know. So when I ordered the Sashimi the waitress kind of looked at me funny, but I just smiled thinking of how wonderful the fish would be. We also had fresh lemonade that was extremely good since I had probably four glasses of and on our way home had to go pee for about 30 minutes. Then my food got to the table and what appeared before me I was not ready for..I giggled and told Coleen that I had no idea that I ordered what I did and she laughed and thought I knew what I was getting. What did I see, oh raw fish red little strips with cajun spices drizzled around the sides. Everyone got a big laugh out of it and then I wasn't really laughing because I now had to take my first bite. Coleen told me to drench my tiny plate in Soy Sauce and then add just a little bit of Wasabe(which is apparently very strong) and our waiter kept telling me more wasabe. So after the first bite was swallowed it wasn't terrible it tasted like raw steak and soy sauce with a cajun flavor mixed in. After about the 13th strip I was struggling because it is one of those foods that you can't really have that much of. Melinda tried one strip and gagged the whole swallowing process which was hilarious. I ate all but 3 strips and Coleen was very impressed by me. We are going to visit family's of the church tomorrow and the rest of the week and it is courteous to take whatever they offer you (which Coleen said might not be the most appetizing of things). So, I thought of this as a preview/warm-up of what might be to come. One more thing about the meal we had amazing sweet rolls that were delicious so I had about 3. I have a feeling that we're in for a long ride. We are looking forward to day 3 and beyond...and the many more adventures that are to come!

Samoan Words learned today:

lava lava: wrap around kilt type of clothing worn by men and women

Ili Ili: this is the village we live in

Tafuna: this is the village the church is located at

Missy Lingas: tiny little bananas

The Flower Pot picture needed to be rotated, but we are too tired to figure it out.